1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to a play ball having the appearance of a humanoid head, and more particularly to a play ball of this type whose facial features are selected and applied to the ball by the player.
2. Status of Prior Art
A play ball is conventionally made by a blow molding process in which air or another gas is introduced into a plastic parison to cause it to expand against a mold whose size and shape define the ball. Thus in blow molding a spherical ball, the mold is spherical, whereas an elliptical mold is used when blow molding a ball having a football shape.
The Casey et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,324,277 discloses a rubber play ball blow molded to have a generally spherical form. However, the mold for this purpose acts to create recesses and projections on the surface of the ball to simulate the eyes, nose, mouth and ears of the head of a humanoid figure, such as the so-called Man-in-the-Moon. The surface irregularities of the Casey et al. ball do not interfere with the ability to bounce, kick or throw the ball.
The term "kick" has either a literal or figurative meaning, and in some instances the two meanings are merged. Thus when a ball is kicked, it is literally struck, for the kicker's foot then makes contact with the ball. But if you kick someone around, you are then treating him badly, not actually striking him. Thus President Nixon is remembered for his remark to the press that they would not have him around to kick anymore.
When however one kicks someone who is down, this combines a physical act with a deliberate insult, for the individual who is down is unable to retaliate and the act of kicking him is an expression of contempt.
Perhaps the earliest example of a kick that is both a physical act and an insult is in the soccer game invented by the Inca Indians of South America who used as a soccer ball a skull separated from an enemy's body. A player in kicking this skull, thereby insulted the spirit of the enemy.
The drawback of the Casey et al. ball is that its facial features are not selected by the player but are predetermined by the mold in which the ball is formed. Moreover, the features all have the color of the rubber from which the ball is made. Hence in the Casey et al. ball one does not have say red lips, blue eyes and black hair, for the facial features all share the same color and therefore are not realistic.